WESBath has been affiliated with the national Women’s Engineering Society (WES) for over a year now. It’s been great to have their support throughout the first year, with their president, Dawn Bonfield, attending our Christmas event and having them feature us in their official journal, The Woman Engineer. I was very excited when I was asked to be a member of WES council, both to learn more about WES and to be able to give something back to the society.
I attended my first meetings on Saturday 10th October. The day started with the council meeting. After some quick introductions it was straight down to business. Some of the things discussed that were relevant for the student groups were the timing of the WES student conference and setting up a network of student WES committees across different universities.
The council meeting was followed by lunch, which allowed for networking. After lunch the AGM kicked off. In the AGM, which is open to all members of WES, a presentation was given to current members of the society about what WES have been up to this year. After this new council members were elected and Benita Mehra was appointed as the new president of WES. The financial statement for the year was also presented.
Following the AGM, we were treated to a lecture from Henrietta Heald on WES founder Rachel Parsons. Rachel was the first president of the society from 1919 until 1921, and continued her engagement with the council for many years after this. It was great to hear about such an inspiring and forward-thinking woman!
Jo Douglas
WESBath Chair
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